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Location: Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about
one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago
Geographic coordinates: 17 20 N, 62 45 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total: 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km)
land: 261 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 135 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental
margin
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate: tropical tempered by constant sea breezes; little
seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)
Terrain: volcanic with mountainous interiors
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m
Natural resources: arable land
Land use:
arable land: 22%
permanent crops: 17%
permanent pastures: 3%
forests and woodland: 17%
other: 41% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: hurricanes (July to October)
Environment - current issues: NA
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Background: First settled by the British in 1623, the islands
along with Anguilla, became an associated state with full internal
autonomy in 1967. Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in
1971.
St. Kitts and Nevis achieved independence in 1983. In 1998, a vote
in Nevis on a referendum to separate from St. Kitts fell short of
the two-thirds majority needed.
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